Leadership elections at the legislature a month ago put a snag in the
Solís administration plans for new taxes.

Expats and foreign residents were concerns by rumors that new taxes
would apply to income from foreign sources.

With anti-tax lawmakers in leadership roles and heading committees, the
central government has little alternative than to push bills that do
not contain new taxes.

Helio Fallas, the first vice president who also heads the Ministerio de
Hacienda, has

presented four measures
that lawmakers might
consider. One
measure would fight tax evasion. Another would reduce the many ways
certain organization are exempt from some taxes. Another would
strengthen the powers of the customs agency over imported merchandise.

As far as taxing the pension payments for foreign expats, Costa Rica
maintains tax treaties with most First World nations that would exempt
income on which taxes already has been paid even if such a bill were to
be presented.

At the legislature, anti-tax lawmakers are trying to force the central
government and President Luis Guillermo Solís to make
substantial cuts
in public spending.

Honors
for fallen

Marines from the U.S.
Embassy security detachment render honors as the Marine Corps
League of Costa Rica conducts Memorial Day services Saturday at the
Campo de Esperanza Cemetery in San Antonio de Escazú.

Marine Corps League photo

Child-abduction bill puts PANI in charge
of search

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The legislature approved Thursday on first reading a bill that would
create a system of alerts when a minor disappears. Final approval is
expected today or tomorrow.

The measure is bill No. 19.356, which creates a committee of public and
private entities that is supposed to coordinate the search for a
missing child.

The measure is based on one that was passed in Guatemala. A summary
also references the AMBER child abduction alert system in use in the
United States.

The committee is being called the Comisión Coordinadora Nacional
del Sistema de Alerta para la Protección de la Niñez
Costarricense.

The bill seems to shift the supervision of a search for a missing child
from police agencies to the Patronato Nacional de la Infancia, known as
PANI, which presides over the committee, according to the legislation.

The summary for the bill mentioned two children who vanished and who
still are among the missing. They are Francisco Sánchez
Potosme, 6, who vanished at the Escuela de Valencia in San Rafael
Abajo, Desamparados, March 27, 2007, and Yerelyn Guzmán Calvo,
6, who disappeared near her home in Santo Domingo de Heredia, July 11,
2014.

The summary does not mention the latest case, that of Teresita Tatiana
Mendoza Espinoza, 9, and her brother, Alexander Alberto Scott
Espinoza, 11, who were reported missing May 19 in Suampito, Valle
Bonito de San José de Upala. Police found the girl alive the
next morning and also the body of her brother. A 19-year-old neighbor
has been arrested.

The bill requires the Judicial Investigating Organization to keep a
list of missing children and to obtain DNA samples in some cases.

The summary said that between January and July 2014 some 168 youngsters
less than 18 years of age were reported missing in Costa Rica.

The Judicial Investigating Organization already has internal rules for
an immediate response when a child 12 or younger is reported missing.
The summary said children older than 12 are considered runaways unless
there are signs of violence.

Judicial agents issue bulletins on missing persons every week. Some are
adults, and some are youngsters.

Runaways represent the bulk of the juvenile
cases. Some are
Nicaraguans who went to

Ministerio de Seguridad Pública photo

This mother was
detained on a parental child
abduction allegation Friday.

that country to join relatives. Then
there is
parental abduction. For example, Friday agents of the Ministerio de
Seguridad Pública detained a mother in downtown San José.
She is
accused of taking her child when he was supposed to be in the custody
of a grandmother.

The child was recovered.

The bill also says that immigration posts at the
border should be
alerted immediately. Currently, both parents are required to approve
the exit from the country of a minor.

The major thrust of the bill is to provide immediate and widespread
notice when a child vanishes. Media outlets are asked to carry the
notices. The bill is specific in requiring television networks to carry
reports of missing children for free on the three daily news programs.
That demand probably will receive a court challenge.

In cases where children have been murdered or raped, the crime usually
happens quickly after abduction. Guatemala has a long-standing problem
of thefts of babies for adoption, and that is reflected in the text of
the bill.

The summary credits education personnel for foiling one attempted
abduction when a man presented himself at an Escazú school last
August and
attempted to take away a child. School workers would not permit this.

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A.M. Costa Rica's
professional directory is where business people who wish to reach the
English-speaking community may invite responses. If you are interested
in being represented here, please contact the editor.

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Ministerio de Seguridad Pública
photo

Saturday night
patrons mill outside drinking establishments in the
Calle de La Amargura, San Pedro, while police continue
their sweep.

Police
sweep San Pedro bar zone

By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff

A sweep by multiple organizations detected 21 small quantities of
marijuana and one dose of cocaine in a sweep of the Calle de La
Amargura in San Pedro Saturday night and early Sunday.

The Fuerza Pública said that of the 139 individuals checked, two
were minors. There also were two British citizens who were determined
to be illegal, police said.

Officers also found 12 security guards working without a document
showing Ministerio de Seguridad permission, they added.

Conducting the sweep were 70 Fuerza Pública officers, members of
the Policía de Migración, the Policía del
Tránsito and the Patronato Nacional de la Infancia.

Ministerio de Seguridad Pública
photo

Fuerza
Pública officers stopped a vehicle containing five men and the
assortment of weaponry above in La Cruz Saturday night.
There also
were ski masks, latex gloves and plastic ties of the type
used to bind
hands and feet.Elderly woman dies in home fire

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

A 95-year-old woman died Saturday night when fire ravaged her modest
home in Volio, San Ramón, Alajuela.

She was identified as María Vega Madrigal. Fire fighters said
they learned that she had problems in moving and that she was unable to
escape the flames,

The woman was believed to have been cooking. Relatives who live nearby
arrived too late to get her from the blaze, fire fighters said.

Blatter confrontational after re-election

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

Newly re-elected soccer federation President Sepp Blatter has tried to
distance himself from the organization's corruption scandal involving
$150 million in bribes.

Blatter said Saturday in Zurich that he was not the high-ranking
official mentioned in the U.S. indictment alleged to have wired $10
million to the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean
Association Football officials for a vote to select South Africa as the
host country of 2010 World Cup.

He also said the Fédération Internationale de Football
Association will not make any changes to the sites for the 2018 and
2022 World Cups to be played in Russia and Qatar.

In an interview with the RTS Swiss television channel, Blatter implied
Saturday it was not just a coincidence that Swiss police arrested seven
high-ranking current and former soccer officials, including federation
Vice President Jeffrey Webb, two days before the annual congress and
presidential election.

“Why didn't they do this in March when we had the same meeting. At that
time, we had less journalists," Blatter asked in the television
interview. “The Americans, if they have a financial crime that regards
American citizens, must arrest these people there and not in Zurich in
the moment we have a congress.”

The seven have been detained, pending an extradition request from the
United States where they are wanted on corruption charges. Among them
is Eduardo LI, head of the Costa Rican soccer federation and a member
of the international executive board.

The arrests were connected to a bribery scandal being investigated by
U.S., Swiss and other law enforcement agencies that has plunged the
federation into the worst crisis in its 111-year history.

Blatter also made it clear in the television interview there may be
consequences for European leaders who tried to oust him from his
position.

Regarding an effort by Union of European Football Associations
President Michel Platini to oust him, Blatter told RTS, “I forgive
everyone, but I don't forget. We cannot live without UEFA and UEFA
cannot live without us.”

Platini, who helped Blatter first gain the presidency in 1998, led
opposition against his former ally and has suggested European nations
could consider boycotting the federation, including the World Cup.

Blatter said he believes the Europeans are just bad losers after
Platini's candidate, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, was beaten in Friday's
election.

“It is hatred not only by one person at UEFA, but by the organization
of UEFA that has not accepted that I have been president since 1998,”
Blatter said in the television interview.

The European association's strategy for how to deal with Blatter may
become clearer next week when the European body holds meetings in
Berlin ahead of the Champions League final.

"There should be some kind of reaction," said the Dutch federation
president, Michael van Praag, who had been running for the federation
presidency before withdrawing last week to back Prince Ali.

Blatter was seven votes short of the required 140 majority in the first
round of voting, but his opponent, Prince Ali, withdrew before a second
round could take place.

After the vote Friday at the 65th annual congress in Zurich,
Switzerland, Blatter thanked his challenger and praised him for his
integrity and commitment to reform the federation. Blatter promised to
elevate the federation from its current critical state of affairs.

Addressing the congress earlier, Blatter said he will shoulder
responsibility for the current storm of corruption allegations. "FIFA
needs to recover its good name starting tomorrow," he said.

The U.S. Soccer Association expressed disappointment in the result of
the election, but congratulated Blatter.

“We will continue to push for meaningful change within FIFA,” U.S.
Soccer President Sunil Gulati said in a statement. "It is our hope he
will make reform his number one property to ensure the integrity of the
sport across the world.”

Gulati added that the goal for the governance of the federation is to
"be responsible, accountable, transparent and focused solely on the
best interests of the game.”

Blatter said this week's events have unleashed a storm, but he said he
is appealing for unity and the team spirit so the federation can move
forward.

Unlike one day earlier when he said that he could not control
everyone’s actions, Blatter said that he was “willing to accept that
the FIFA president is accountable for everything.”

Blatter also said Friday "I don't think we would have these problems
today" if Russia and Qatar were not awarded the 2018 and 2022 World
Cups, respectively. The U.S. was one of the losing bidders for the 2022
tournament.

A U.S. indictment issued this week charges 14 people with offenses that
include racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering. A separate
Swiss investigation is looking into allegations of mismanagement and
money laundering connected to the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World
Cups.

Qatar on Friday insisted its World Cup bid was conducted with integrity.

The U.S. investigation stretches back to 1991 with allegations that
include sports media executives paying or agreeing to pay $150 million
in bribes in exchange for marketing rights to tournaments, as well as
corruption related to the 2011 federation presidential election and the
sponsorship of Brazil's soccer federation by a U.S. sportswear company.

Li can have visits from family members

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The foreign ministry said that its consular officials in Switzerland
have verified that Eduardo Li, the suspended head of the Costa Rican
soccer federation, can receive family visits.

In addition, they reported that Li has contracted a local lawyer,
Thomas Sprenger. Li faces a U.S. request for extradition to face
bribery and money laundering charges in New York. The charges stem from
allegations that Li, a Costa Rican, ran money that was gained illegally
through bank accounts in Miami and New York.

British banks launch internal reviews

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

Two British banks say they have launched internal reviews into how
allegedly corrupt payments were funneled through their institutions as
part of the years-long world football bribery scheme.

Barclays and Standard Chartered were among dozens of banks mentioned in
the U.S. indictment last week charging 14 media and marketing
executives and officials at the sport's global governing body in a $150
million bribery scandal related to the award of sports media contracts.

No banks have been charged with wrongdoing in the case.

But as the indictments were announced, U.S. prosecutor Kelly Currie
said "part of our investigation will look at the conduct of the
financial institutions to see whether they were cognizant of the fact
they were helping launder these bribe payments.

Cruz Roja
photo

The Cruz
Roja is issuing this equipment kit to 50 persons who might
be first responders if the Turriabla volcano produces a
major
eruption. Cruz Roja workers and police will have the
initial
responsibility of moving those few living or working near
the volcano
to safety.

In addition to enjoying
themselves at a picnic in Santa Ana Sunday, British expats here also
said farewell to Sharon Campbell, the current United Kingdom
ambassador. She is being transferred to Haiti. Mrs. Campbell and her
husband, Christopher, arrived in 2011. He was non-resident ambassador
to Nicaragua.

A.M. Costa Rica/Sheldon Haseltine

National survey says incidence of crime has not changed
since 2010

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Despite law enforcement claims to the contrary, criminality in Costa
Rica is about the same as it was in 2010, according to a national
survey.

At least one person in 20 percent of the country's 1.4 million
households was the victim of a crime during the survey period, July
2013 to July 2014, said the Instituto Nacional de
Estadística y Censos

The statistical institute included the question about crime in its
national survey of homes.

The institute said that during that period about 285,000 households
reported experiencing crimes, according to the survey.

In 70.1 percent of the homes, only one person was a victim,
but in 21
percent of the homes there were two to three cases. In 9 percent or
25,000 homes there were four or more crime victims, said the institute.

The institute
also reported that just 29.7 percent of the crimes were reported to
authorities.

The institute said that 35.7 percent of the crimes were those of
violence. As expected, more crimes and their victims were found in
urban areas.

Some 7.5 percent of the crimes involving 106,000 homes were robberies
outside the dwelling, while in 5 percent, representing 72,000 cases,
the homes themselves were the target.

The survey did not distinguish
between burglaries and armed home invasions.

The incidence of crime ranged from 22.6 percent in the central part of
the county to just 9 percent in the Chorotega area in Guanacaste, said
the survey.

The institute said that the percentage of homes containing victims of
crimes was about the same as in a similar survey in 2010.

Investigators suspect murder of whole family was revenge
over debt

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Investigators are speculating that the murder of an entire family of
four in Santa María de Dota might be a response to
non-payment of a debt.

Judicial agents were alerted to the crime Friday when a visitor found
the door to the home open and a girl, 9, tied to a bed, blindfolded and
gagged. She was dead.

Judicial agents launched a search and found the husband, wife and a
boy, 11, dead some 200 meters from the house. All had been stabbed.

The father
had the last name of Suárez, and the mother had the last
name of Miranda.

She was 32 and he was 50, agents said.

The Judicial Investigating Organization said officially that revenge
over a debt was one of the motives being investigated. The agency also
said that agents suspect that more than one person committed the crimes
because of the number of victims involved.

Just 13 corporations control 19 to 40 percent of the largest and most
valuable stocks and 11 to 16 percent of the global marine catch,
according to new research. These corporations of the global seafood
industry critically shape the future of marine ecosystems but have yet
to assume this responsibility at the global scale.

The new study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, makes an analogy
between the largest companies in seafood industry and keystone species
in ecological communities. Keystone species in nature have a profound
effect on the structure and function of the ecosystem and
disproportionately determine the prevalence and activities of other
species.

For example just a small number of sea otters can determine urchin
numbers, or a few grey wolves determine the size of bison, deer or elk
populations.

Likewise, the study found that the average annual revenues of the 160
largest companies in 2012 exhibit a distinct keystone pattern, The top
10 percent account for 38 percent of total revenues. The identified 13
companies shape very large marine ecosystems around the world and are
involved in both wild capture fisheries and aquaculture, including
whitefish, tuna, salmon, shellfish, fishmeal, fish oil, and aqua feeds.
Their combined annual revenues correspond to 18 percent of the global
value of seafood production in 2012, about $252 billion).

This handful of corporations, representing half a
percent of the 2,250
registered fishing and aquaculture companies

worldwide,
dominate all
parts of seafood production, operate through an extensive global
network of subsidiaries and are profoundly involved in fisheries and
aquaculture decision-making.

Such omnipotence represents both a
challenge and an opportunity for the governance of global fisheries,
said the report.

“The phenomenon of keystone actors is an increasingly important feature
of our human-dominated world. Active leadership in sustainability
initiatives by these corporations could result in a cascade through the
entire seafood industry towards improved management of marine living
resources and ecosystems,” says lead author Henrik Österblom, deputy
science director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre.

“Increasing demand for seafood has contributed to a global fisheries
crisis, with consequences for marine ecosystems around the world,”
Österblom added. Existing analyses of global fisheries operations
have,
however, so far largely focused on the role of countries, rather than
industry corporations.

“Several of the fishing companies we investigated are larger than
most
nations in terms of their share of global catches. Our study reframes
the responsibility for fishing in terms of transnational corporations,
illustrating that they must be included into the equation if we are to
solve the global sustainability crisis in marine ecosystems,” says
co-author Jean-Baptiste Jouffray of the Global Economic Dynamics and
the Biosphere Academy Programme at the Royal Swedish Academy of
Sciences.

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The vacation
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Beautiful 2-bedroom 2-bathroom
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8677-6/11/15

Condo in Jacó for rent

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8602-5/15/15

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The U.S. Senate has advanced a bill to reform the government’s domestic
surveillance program.

The chamber voted 77-17 to begin debate on the USA Freedom Act, which
gives telecommunications companies, rather than the National Security
Agency, the task of collecting and retaining Americans’ phone records
in the fight against terrorism.

The bill was overwhelmingly approved by the House of Representatives,
but failed in an initial Senate test vote a little more than a week ago.

Sunday the Senate reversed itself hours before the midnight expiration
of the existing program, which is now defunct two years after it was
exposed by fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

For weeks, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had argued
for a temporary extension of the NSA’s snooping abilities to no avail.
On Sunday he conceded defeat, saying the USA Freedom Act is better than
the alternative: no telephone records being collected at all.

“Allow the program to expire altogether without attempting to replace
it, in the face of growing, aggressive and sophisticated threats. That
is a totally unacceptable outcome,” McConnell said.

The Senate will debate the bill through Tuesday. Should it pass
unaltered, it would go to the White House for President Obama’s
signature.

A statement issued by the White House press secretary after the
Senate's action late Sunday urged lawmakers to ensure that what it
called an irresponsible lapse in the surveillance program is as
short-lived as possible. The statement says: "On a matter as critical
as our national security, individual senators must put aside their
partisan motivations and act swiftly. The American people deserve
nothing less."

This turn of events constitutes a major victory for Sen. Patrick Leahy,
a Democrat who co-authored the bill.

“The USA Freedom Act is a carefully crafted bipartisan compromise that
protects Americans’ privacy but also keeps this country safe,” Leahy
said. “This is a bill that does both.”

For some, the bill’s reforms do not go far enough to protect Americans’
civil liberties. Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican who recently filibustered
for more than 10 hours on the subject, said the bulk collection of
telephone records by any entity is an unconstitutional threat to
privacy.

“We are not collecting the information of spies. We are not collecting
the information of terrorists. We are collecting all American citizens’
records all of the time. Are we going to so blithely give up our
freedom?” Paul said. “I’m not going to take it anymore.”

Backers of the expired program said it had been much maligned by
critics eager to inflame public passions about government snooping.

“A portion of the public has been led to believe that big government is
in their bedroom, in their house, in their car, in their phone, that it
tracks them wherever they go,” said Sen. Dan Coats, another Republican
. “It’s a bunch of hokum, and it’s wrong.”

The Senate cut short last week’s recess by one day in order to try once
again to address the NSA program. The chamber’s options were limited,
given that the House of Representatives does not gavel in until later
Monday. As a result, even if the Senate had voted to extend the
program, House consideration would have occurred after it expired.

Last month, a federal appeals court ruled the program illegal. Its
expiration means there will be no need for a hearing of the case before
the Supreme Court.

Cubans pleased at removal
of country from terrorism list

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

The United States' official removal of Cuba from its list of state
sponsors of terrorism is being celebrated on the Communist island and
welcomed by many Americans.

The move Friday brings the two Cold War adversaries a step closer to
re-establishing diplomatic relations that were severed more than 50
years ago.

The United States, in announcing the decision, said it is effective
immediately. For many Cubans the decision means righting a longtime
injustice.

"We have always fought for peace, for solidarity. It was an
injustice to put us on this list. Now, there is justice," one
woman said.

Another Cuban said, "Cuba has always been affected by terrorism, not to
sponsor, not to put bombs anywhere. Therefore, it does not deserve to
be on the list."

A young woman said, "Luckily, they realized, they opened their eyes,
that we are not bad."

Cuba was placed on the list in 1982 for aiding rebel movements in
Africa and Latin America. But Havana long ago said it had ceased
supporting foreign insurgencies.

Cuban President Raúl Castro made the removal a key condition for
restoring diplomatic relations with Washington. Some U.S. lawmakers
oppose rapprochement with the Communist country.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said Friday, "It is a victory for the
oppressive Cuban government, but a serious setback for the oppressed
Cuban people."

But after several meetings with U.S. officials, Cuba's government in
March allowed the launch of the island's first known free, public
Internet service at a Havana cultural center.

"Hopefully the cost of communications in Cuba will go down thanks to
these new doors opening and that will permit this country to do many
more things," said Alexis Leyva, a Cuban artist.

The ease of travel restrictions has enabled reunions of family members
separated for many years and it has enabled this American artist to
participate in an international art festival in Havana.

Defense secretary promises
to find anthrax shipper

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter says he will find out who is
responsible for mistaken shipments of live samples of the deadly
anthrax bacteria sent by a Defense Department laboratory.

Carter described the shipments as an unfortunate incident while
speaking during a visit to Vietnam's Navy headquarters in the port city
of Hai Phong.

He said the Pentagon is working to limit any public health consequences
and working to ensure that it never happens again.

The U.S. military said Friday that there were more accidental
deliveries of live anthrax spores than originally thought.

Officials say that live anthrax samples from a U.S. military laboratory
in the state of Utah were shipped to 24 laboratories in 11 U.S. states
and two foreign countries, South Korea and Australia.

The Pentagon has ordered a comprehensive review of the laboratory
procedures.

Contact with live anthrax can lead to a severe flu-like illness that
could be fatal if not treated early.

The Pentagon said Thursday that it has stopped shipping anthrax spores
while the incident is being investigated.

Police killings calculated
at more than two each day

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

A prominent U.S. newspaper says police in the United States are killing
people at a rate of more than two per day this year.

The Washington Post says 385 people have been killed nationwide by
police in the first five months of 2015. The newspaper said at
that rate, police will have shot and killed nearly 1,000 people by the
end of the year.

The newspaper says its tally of fatal police shootings is twice the
rate of shootings counted by the federal government during the past
decade. Police departments are not required to report their fatal
incidents to the federal government.

"We are never going to reduce the number of police shootings if we do
not begin to accurately track this information," Jim Bueermann, a
former police chief and president of the Washington-based Police
Foundation told The Post.

The Post's tracking of the police shootings comes amid a national
outcry about the deadly force police use, especially in
African-American communities and other minority communities.

Included among The Post's findings were that half the victims were
white, half were minority. But the newspaper said the
demographics shifted sharply among unarmed victims, two-thirds of whom
were black or Hispanic. The Post said blacks were killed at three
times the rate of whites or other minorities.

More than 80 percent of the victims were armed with potentially lethal
objects, according to the report, while 49 people did not have a weapon.

The report said while police are only authorized to use deadly force
when they fear for their lives or the lives of others, so far this year
just three of the 385 fatal shootings have resulted in an officer being
charged with a crime.

The Washington Post said its findings this year mirror an investigation
the paper conducted earlier in the year that of the thousands of fatal
police shootings during the past decade, only 54 had produced criminal
charges. "Typically, those cases involved layers of damning
evidence challenging the officer's account," the report said.

Son of U.S. vice president
dies after battling cancer

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

The son of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has died.

The son, Beau Biden, the 46-year-old former state attorney general of
the northeastern state of Delaware, died Saturday after battling brain
cancer for several years. The vice president's oldest son also served
in the military for one year in Iraq.

Vice President Biden said in a statement that “it is with broken
hearts” that he and his family “announce the passing of our husband,
brother and son, Beau, after he battled brain cancer with the same
integrity, courage and strength he demonstrated every day of his life.”

Biden had been receiving treatment for the disease this month at
Walter Reed Army Medical Center outside Washington.

Vice President Biden said “The entire Biden family is saddened beyond
words. We know that Beau’s spirit will live on in all of us,
especially through his brave wife, Hallie, and two remarkable children,
Natalie and Hunter.”

The vice president said of his son that “More than his professional
accomplishments, Beau measured himself as a husband, father, son and
brother. His absolute honor made him a role model for our
family. Beau embodied my father’s saying that a parent knows
success when his child turns out better than he did.”

Biden said his son “was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have
ever known.”

Secretary of State Kerry
breaks leg in bike mishap

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will remain in a Swiss hospital
overnight after breaking his leg in a bicycle crash Sunday.

Kerry was hospitalized in the Swiss city of Geneva in stable
condition.

"The secretary had planned on flying back to the U.S. this evening, but
after further consultation it was sensible for him to remain in the
hospital for observation overnight for purely precautionary measures
and fly home tomorrow,'' State Department spokesman John Kirby said
Sunday. "The secretary continues to be in great spirits and
active. He has done a range of phone calls including with the
president.''

Kerry, who fractured his femur, will receive further treatment in
Boston. A spokesperson said that because the injury is near the
site of his prior hip surgery, Kerry will be treated by the same doctor
who performed that surgery.

He was in Switzerland for talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad
Javad Zarif on reaching a nuclear deal before the June 30 deadline.

Those talks did not continue Sunday as originally planned, after Iran
rejected a Western demand to allow site inspections.

Kerry had been due to travel to Spain for talks and then on to Paris
for a conference on fighting the Islamic State group. A
spokesperson says he plans to participate in the Islamic State
conference remotely.

Organizers, bikers whom police feared would be armed, said the rally
was mounted in response to an incident earlier this month in which two
gunmen opened fire on a similar contest in Texas where cartoonists were
drawing pictures of Islam's Prophet.

Both gunmen were killed following a brief exchange of fire. One police
officer was wounded. One of the gunmen frequently worshipped at the
north Phoenix mosque where Friday's rally was held.

Organizer Jon Ritzheimer. a former active duty Marine, said the rally
would be peaceful, but he had urged protesters to bring weapons in case
of an attack.

Ritzheimer invited thousands of bikers to attend the rally. More than
600 people had responded on the event's Facebook page by Friday.

The shooting at the Texas cartoon contest was claimed by the Islamic
State group that has declared an Islamic caliphate in parts of Iraq and
Syria. However, experts have questioned that claim and authorities have
found no links between the two gunmen and the extremist organization.

Californians face faults
other than San Andreas

By the American Geophysical
Union news service

While their attention may be inland on the San Andreas Fault, residents
of coastal Southern California could be surprised by very large
earthquakes and even tsunamis from several major faults that lie
offshore, a new study finds.

The latest research into the little known, fault-riddled, undersea
landscape off of Southern California and northern Baja California has
revealed more worrisome details about a tectonic train wreck in the
Earth’s crust with the potential for magnitude 7.9 to 8.0 earthquakes.
The new study supports the likelihood that these vertical fault zones
have displaced the sea floor in the past, which means they could send
out tsunami-generating pulses towards the nearby coastal mega-city of
Los Angeles and neighboring San Diego.

“We’re dealing with continental collision,” said geologist Mark Legg of
Legg Geophysical in Huntington Beach, California, regarding the cause
of the offshore danger. “That’s fundamental. That’s why we have this
mess of a complicated logjam.”

Legg is the lead author of the new analysis accepted for publication in
the Journal of Geophysical Research. He is also one of a handful of
geologists who have been trying for decades to piece together the
complicated picture of what lies beyond Southern California’s famous
beaches.

The logjam Legg referred to is composed of blocks of the Earth’s crust
caught in the ongoing tectonic battle between the North American
tectonic plate and the Pacific plate. The blocks are wedged together
all the way from the San Andreas Fault on the east, to the edge of the
continental shelf on the west, from 150 to 200 kilometers (90 to 125
miles) offshore. These chunks of crust get squeezed and rotated as the
Pacific plate slides northwest, away from California, relative to the
North American plate. The mostly underwater part of this region is
called the California Continental Borderland, and includes the Channel
Islands.

By combining older seafloor data and digital seismic data from
earthquakes along with 4,500 kilometers (2,796 miles) of new sea floor
depth measurements, or bathymetry, collected in 2010, Legg and his
colleagues were able to take a closer look at the structure of two of
the larger sea floor faults in the Borderland: the Santa Cruz-Catalina
Ridge Fault and the Ferrelo Fault. What they were searching for are
signs, like those seen along the San Andreas, that indicate how much
the faults have slipped over time and whether some of that slippage
caused some of the sea floor to thrust upwards.

What they found along the Santa Cruz-Catalina Ridge Fault are ridges,
valleys and other clear signs that the fragmented, blocky crust has
been lifted upward, while also slipping sideways like the plates along
the San Andreas Fault do.

Further out to sea, the Ferrelo Fault zone showed thrust faulting,
which is an upwards movement of one side of the fault. The vertical
movement means that blocks of crust are being compressed as well as
sliding horizontally relative to each other.

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Big house for sale.
Great opportunity !!!If you know about house for sale
prices, you will realize that this is a real deal. Original
price of $400,000 now is $320,000.
Due to its characteristics and location, it can also be used for
commercial purposes (boutique hotel, offices, medical center).
Large house, 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, one office, just 250 meters from
Grecia downtown. High quality construction, built in 2009, high
ceilings, balcony with beautiful views over central Grecia valley,
elegant luxury furnitures included, network cabling 6 gigabits
throughout the house, Giant TV flat projection system of 120 inches in
the main room, sound system 7.1 channel. Air conditioning system,
security system, and cameras, lighting system in open areas. 4-car
parking space plus large garage, Recommended for large families.

CoopeAgri Real
Estate
The best option in real estate services in southern Costa Rica and the
South Pacific coast. We are professionals promoting properties such as
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Re/Max Ocean Surf and Sun:
The experts in buying
property in Costa Rica, with more than 20 years experience and the
largest networked team of agents in the country. We can help you
learn if investing in Costa Rica is right for you with our low-key,
educational approach to sales. Our professional agents can tell you
more about Costa Rica properties, including condos, homes, lots and
commercial real estate. Call us: Ocean Surf and Sun Int. Realty
Ldta at 011 (506) 2653-0073 or send us an email at: info@remax-oceansurf-cr.com

This exceptional private ranch
sits on a 9+ hectare lot and supports 15-20 horses. Only 2 hours south
of San José, on the road to Puriscal. Roomy stalls all with
drains,
water hookup, lights and fans, grooming and shoeing área.
Two-story
house all furnished and cowboy house. Don't miss your chance on that
turnkey operation. Offered at $949,000.
E-mail: marietta234@yahoo.es
or call (506) 8707-1037
(506) 2778-8408 Web: http://mariettedaignault.point2agent.com

8696-7/21/15

Mountain home w/million dollar view near
San Ramón
Beautiful home in the mountains near San Ramón with 180-degree
view of
the gulf of Nicoya. 7 miles from San Ramón, 1 mile from
Interamericana
highway. 3,200 foot elevation so temp is 65 to 75 year around. Electric
gate, private drive. house built in 2010. 2 bedrooms, 1 baths,
appliances included. High-speed internet installed, Direct TV via sling
box on Internet. Price for sale $179,000 Contact
Mike: mmpeace@hotmail.com
Check out slide show HERE!

8671-6/30/15

DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!
They say a stock market crash is overdue. Is your money in the
bank earning only pennies in interest? Is it time to get some of
your assets out of the United States and into a wonderful retirement
location? That was this owner’s plan. Gross ROI for this
property was 11% most recent 5 months with 1,129 m2 lot crying for
development of more rentals. Build two or even three inexpensive
fourplexes and live off of the income the rest of your life. But
current owner is unable to stay in Costa Rica (divorce, health reasons)
so must sacrifice retirement dream property. Offered at only
$140,000 by extremely motivated seller and cash talks! Very
desirable location only a short 5-minute walk to central La Fortuna,
clean and modern construction 2 bedroom 1 bath home is 102 m2 with no
wasted space, very livable. THIS ABSOLUTELY MUST BE SOLD!
For interior pix email lafortunaguy@gmail.com
or phone (506) 8377-8402.

8552-5/20/15

A beautiful American style suburban home
just reduced.

A beautiful American
style suburban home, 2,700 sq ft of living space with 5 bedrooms, 3
bathrooms, front and rear living rooms, laundry area, kitchen and small
attached library nook, arched windows and doors and connected hallways,
exotic wood interior ceilings and trim, tile floors thru-out. The
lot is 835 m2 with mature landscape and orchid nurseries surrounding
the house. There is an enclosed workshop and BBQ area in the back yard
with lots of storage under roof, plus a nursery for an herb/vegetable
garden. This is a very well-kept property with many upgrades, a
private feel but yet only 5 minutes from the center of town.
Pérez Zeledón is the commercial hub of the southern zone
and considered
to be one of the best places to live in all of Costa Rica, the perfect
size town, not too big and not too small. The beach is 45 minutes
to the west and a short drive to the cool mountains is to the east. In
between, this large valley has a moderate climate. Pérez
has
plenty of modern goods and services, an excellent farmers market,
private schools, private doctors and clinics, all you need without
having to go to the crazy madness of San José.
Just
reduced to $239,000. Call Jeff: 8824-8113 or
8725-8176. Email: angelsdad@me.com

Located in Jacó in the best and safest location possible, at
Barrio
Ricos y Famosos in Calle Europa, Casa Shangri La.

Main house: 3
bedrooms, 3 baths, 270 square meters, 2 condominiums 2 bedrooms, one
bath, 110 square meters, plus one small apartment: One bedroom, one
bath. Huge pool, carport for five cars. plus double garage, rancho with
pool bathroom, gymnasium, laundry room, pool plumbing room, huge dog
house in separate 500-square-meter garden with aviary for birds and
other animals. 60 meters of river front of Río Copey with a
4-meter-high protective and retention stone wall. Eight surveillance
camera CCTV system with Internet access from anywhere. Over
2-meter-high brick wall all around the property with two layers of
razor wires on top, the safest place to be! Electronic entrance gate,
door phone, Beautiful gardens with many fruit trees. Built in year 2005
to highest standard by German owner now 69 years old, who wants to
downgrade. Room for two more apartments, plans approved. Only 6 minutes
walk to the beach and or center of Jacó. Price reduced for
quick
sale to $1,150.000 and still negotiable. All fittings and furniture
included. Excellent quality and well maintained. Just upgraded and
remodeled for $ 30,000. Owner financing available. More photos on
request HERE! Email: wolfganghilbich@yahoo.com
Cell 8838-2081 or home 2643-2979.

8648-7/29/14

on one big lot in Esterillos Oeste,
(Central Pacific)
Located on a breezy hill just 4 minutes walk to the beach, surf and
tide-pools, only 20 minutes drive north to Jacó nightlife and
shopping
or south to the rural town of Parrita.

Second, a completely
private single-storey. 2-bedroom (sleeps 4), 1-bathroom home
with big back yard at a lower level on the same, big fully titled
1,100M2 lot.. Full security bars at all doors and windows, plus locking
vehicle access and pedestrian gates at the street. In a very safe
neighborhood, with private and natural surroundings

Well maintained, fully and tastefully furnished and equipped, hot
water, local phone, cable TV/DVD and high speed wireless
internet The houses have been rented for both long-term and
vacation for $100/$80 per day and $1,500/$1,200 per month respectively.
See this place, you will love it! Then make an offer. E-mail azucarb@racsa.co.cr or call
(506) 8386-8825. Rodney, asking $350,000.

8679-5/17/15

Little piece of paradise near Santiago de Puriscal, Costa
Rica. 16 acres
(approximately.) Price: $599,000USD
We are selling our beautiful finca that has been in the family for 37
years. It is located 3 miles (5 k) northwest of Santiago de Puriscal in
the village of Desamparaditos. We are looking for a
discriminating buyer who would appreciate the location, views, flora
and fauna. Excellent for artists, writers and nature lovers. Fantastic
birding. Very private but not isolated. For more information: In
the U.S.A. call the owners: Pete & Debbie Todd: 970 -221-1457 or
720-951-7928 or email toddscolorado@gmail.com.
In Costa Rica call: Ivo Henfling at Godutch Realty: 2289-5125/8834-4515
ivo@godutchrealty.com

8524-6/5/15

Beautiful beach hotel for sale.Located at
Jacó
Beach, Costa Rica, Pacific Ocean.
Apartotel Costa Arenas is located just 5 minutes from the beach and 10
minutes from Jacó Downtown. The perfect place to rest in a cozy
and
familiar environment; surrounded by beautiful gardens. We have 11 fully
equipped apartments. Also has swimming pool for adults and children and
private parking 24 hours. Retail value US$700,000.00
Contact:
Carlos Díaz Local CR Phone: (506) 2643-2085
Email: costarenas@ice.co.cr
Web: www.costa-arenas.com

The farm is at the
highest point on a stunning ridge bordered by pristine Costa Rican
primary forest on all sides of the property, with active wildlife all
throughout the area. On each of its gently rolling terraced lomas you
get a glimpse of Volcán Arenal from a distance. This property
has four
different lagunas, a working organic farm and nursery, mature fruit
trees, sheep corral, ideal for grazing horses with stunning views from
all the hillsides. The Northern Zone of Costa Rica is the country's
best kept secret, providing a perfect home base location to travel the
country's many destinations while still maintaining the best climate at
400 meters above sea level.

Live the dream!
Several profitable businesses, including a regional radio station, are
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There you are, working away
turning over the pile of mulch, when you jump back and raise the garden
fork to protect yourself. What the heck is that!! Snake? You get ready
to strike and stop. That can’t be a worm,

you think to
yourself. No worm gets that big. But dang, it looks like a worm – if a
worm were two feet long and hugely fat.

You take a step forward. The thing has moved and
is almost gone so
you pull out more mulch and there it is. Eww. It must be a worm. It’s
segmented like a worm, no snake

scales. It’s the color of a worm, sort of, what
the heck? Kind of an eerie thing. And then it’s gone again,
pushing its way through the mulch.
The whole incident has you creeped out, so you head inside to look
through some books on snakes. No luck, so you hit in Internet. This
takes a while, then you find it. The name, caecilian, is as odd as the
animal itself.

Caecilians are an ancient animal, unique, and, if you believe the
books, rare. Once textbook points out that the majority of biologists
and herpetologists have never met a caecilian in the wild. Be proud,
you have them beat. Not just that, but you took the time to really look
at an animal you thought at first was a snake and let it live.

I have seen a caecilian in the garden under a rotting log. That is
their habitat, rotting vegetation, compost piles, the loose soil under
our feet. Like a worm, they live in the dark and their eyes are adapted
to the dark. Their segments, like those of the worm, help push them
through the soil but can anchor them while they use powerful muscles to
push the head forward. And the head, unlike that of a worm, has bones
in it. Another surprise is that caecilians are amphibians, like frogs
and toads. In mud or water, they swim like an eel.

The caecilian I saw? My first reaction was just like yours – I jumped
back. My second, recognizing that this was no snake, was to make a grab
for it, but it was too fast. This was probably a good thing because –
last surprise – their skin secretes a substance that is hemolytic, not
something you want in a cut or scrape.

So there you have it; the gentle (to us) caecilian. Look for him in the
compost pile and, if you find him, gaze in wonder. You have seen
something many scientists have never seen.

Plant for the Week

The thunbergia alata,
black-eyed susan vine or poet’s eye vine, is a
common one in Costa Rica. They can be seen by the road-side, usually in
white or yellow, but they also come in pink. Easy to grow, they will
quickly take over a fence and don’t seem to be bothered by leaf cutter
ants, although you can see from this picture that something eats them.
Full sun to partial shade and they thrive.

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From Page 7:

Ministry has to
buy out artists' contracts

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The culture ministry has decided to cancel concerts planned for June 20
and 22 as a belated part of the Festival Internacional de las Artes.

The ministry said it will have to make settlements with the artists who
were to perform.

The concerts had been scheduled as part of another festival planned
those days for the La Aduana in San José. The concerts did not
take place during the arts festival at the end of April because of
problems arranging a contract for sound and lights.

At that time, the ministry promised the concerts with most of the
tickets going to residents of the cantons where the original concerts
did not take place, Aserrí, Alajuelita, Acosta and Desamparados.

The main reason, said the Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud, is
because holding concerts would mean additional expenses that the
Centro de Producción Artística y Cultural does not have.
The Centro is an agency of the ministry. The estimated additional costs
are some 50 million colons, said the ministry, nearly $100,000.